The End

"I'm not like you."

Xia Mu raised his head and met Suzune's eyes. "Besides, that's only what you've seen on the surface. Behind the scenes, I've actually worked with other people, too."

Even if he really had the ability to do all this alone, so what?

Suzune was far too rigid. If she could get others to help her and make things easier and more efficient, why wouldn't she?

Suzune was at a loss for words. That was true—she didn't know Xia Mu, either.

How could she claim that he'd never accepted help from anyone else?

Watching Horikita Suzune fall into thought as the Correction progress bar slowly rose, Xia Mu understood.

As expected, people were more receptive to what you said when they were at their weakest, physically and emotionally.

Horikita Suzune had been running a high fever for several days, and she'd only lost her Key Card yesterday. Right now, she was in exactly that kind of state.

Xia Mu's sudden concern had also lowered her guard.

Otherwise, given her temperament, she would never have listened to him under normal circumstances.

Now that he'd found an opening, correcting her would be much easier from here on out.

Suzune wasn't invulnerable.

Or rather, no one was perfect. Everyone had weaknesses.

"In your current condition, you can't protect the Key Card."

Xia Mu slipped the Key Card into his pocket. "I'll hold on to it from now on. When the time comes, I'll take you to occupy the outpost."

For once, Horikita Suzune didn't resist. She only lowered her head and murmured, "Mm."

She knew what condition she was in.

"But there's something I still don't understand." Horikita Suzune struggled to sit upright. "Why did you steal it instead of asking me directly?"

"I have my reasons. You don't need to ask."

Xia Mu took out a slip of paper and handed it to Suzune. "This is a list of the leaders of the other classes. Believe it or not."

"What you do with it is up to you, too."

Suzune took it and glanced over the list. It was almost exactly what she'd suspected. Her eyes widened in surprise. "How did you get this list?"

Xia Mu pointed to his head. "Didn't I just tell you? Allies."

Horikita Suzune's heart skipped a beat. "You mean you have informants in the other classes!?"

Xia Mu smiled without confirming or denying it, then turned and walked away. No matter how much Suzune called after him, he didn't look back, leaving her with the impression of a mysterious, inscrutable figure.

Go on, guess. I doubt you'll figure it out even on your deathbed.

Hmm? Wait, why do I feel like I'm gloating?

Xia Mu's figure gradually disappeared over the horizon, leaving Horikita Suzune sitting where she was, staring blankly at the paper in her hand.

Ever since coming to this school, she'd kept saying she wanted to follow in her brother's footsteps and raise Class D to Class A. But so far, she hadn't taken any real action.

Honestly...

"Ugh."

Her long sigh echoed through the quiet, shadowy forest.

The seventh day—the final day on the deserted island.

After seven days and nights of hardship, the students had lost some of their edge, and most had shed a little of their immaturity.

Of course, Xia Mu was the exception.

He was looking positively radiant.

After tidying up the campsite, everyone gathered on the beach.

Suzune had filled in the names of the leaders of the other classes.

To everyone's surprise, Long Yuan hadn't left. He even sprang out of the bushes.

His expression, however, was far from pleasant.

Without waiting for the results, he boarded the ship.

The leader of Class A also looked extremely grim.

Before long, the final results were announced.

To everyone's surprise, Class D had taken first place with 334 points.

Converted into personal points, that meant they'd receive over thirty thousand extra every month.

Class B came in second with 182 points.

Ichinose patted her chest in relief and looked gratefully at Xia Mu.

Class A placed third, with only a little over fifty points.

That was what remained after a massive deduction. Katsuragi snorted, and the Class A students all looked rather unhappy.

Even the strongest class had lost to the two lower-ranked classes. Who wouldn't be upset?

As for Class C, they had zero points.

That was more or less what everyone expected. No one was particularly surprised.

Those who knew a little about what had happened knew that Long Yuan had guessed the leaders of the other classes incorrectly.

Those who didn't know the details simply thought he deserved it. On the first day, the students in his class had used their points to live it up, then almost all of them had withdrawn from the exam and boarded the ship.

The Class D students erupted in cheers. It was the first time they'd ever beaten the other classes.

It made them feel a lot better after being called trash and rejects for so long.

Didn't you call us trash? Now the trash is looking down on you. How does that feel?

As for Xia Mu, he felt neither joy nor sorrow.

The results were exactly what he'd expected. He'd even prepared a backup plan, though he hadn't needed it.

Or rather, he was the root cause of everything that had happened.

None of Long Yuan's plans had succeeded, so this time, he'd suffered a complete defeat.

Once the results had been announced, everyone returned to the ship.

Long Yuan stood at the bow, scanning the students from Class B and Class D before finally fixing his gaze on Ichinose and Suzune.

He'd cooperated with Class A. They had no reason to sabotage him, especially since they'd suffered heavy losses themselves.

That left only Class D and Class A as the ones who could have ruined his plan.

But neither of these two seemed like the sort who could see through his plans and sabotage them.

Who was it?

Without thinking, his gaze drifted toward Xia Mu, that unremarkable student.

When their eyes met and Xia Mu gave him a faintly mocking look, Long Yuan furrowed his brows.

He'd have to find a way to uncover the real mastermind behind Class D. Whoever it was, he'd make them pay!!

Back on the ship, Xia Mu returned to his room and slept like the dead.

He hadn't slept well the night before, and after Suzune recovered on the seventh day, she'd kept dragging him into a barrage of questions. She hadn't managed to get anything out of him, though.

Suzune's Correction progress was now at 5%.

Kikyo Kushida was at 53%.

Wang Meiyu was at 52%.

Karuizawa Kei was at 23%.

Ayanokoji was at 1%.

He needed to find time to complete Wang Meiyu's Correction task. After that, he'd work on Karuizawa Kei.

There was no hurry with the others. Their issues were more serious, so they'd take longer to deal with.

Xia Mu currently had 70 Skill Points in total, enough to learn another skill.

What should he learn this time?

Xia Mu scrolled through his phone, thinking.

"Ring, ring~"

Just then, an unknown number called his phone.

Xia Mu narrowed his eyes and hung up.

"Ring, ring~"

The phone rang again.

He hung up once more.

But the caller still wouldn't give up. Just as Xia Mu was about to block the number, a text message arrived.

[It's me, Xia Mu! Ichinose!!!]